CT, the Czech national broadcaster has confirmed today that it will be opting for a national final in order to select its Eurovision 2018 entry and act for Lisbon. The Czech Republic will be having a national final after 10 years.

The central European landlocked country has had a long tradition of selecting its Eurovision entries via an internal selection since 2009 and is now set to revert back to national final. This will be the 3rd time the country will be opting for a national final.

A total of 6 acts will battle at the 2018 Czech Eurovision national final, scheduled to be held in Prague next January. International fans will be able to partake in the voting via the Eurovision app.

[UPDATE: 9 DECEMBER]

CT, the Czech national broadcaster has announced today that it will be disclosing the names of the 6 competing acts along with with their respective entries on the 8 January 2018.

The Czech broadcaster has received more than 400 entries from various producers, artists and composers  from all over the world, out of which 36 entries were submitted by Czech composers. A special team of experts and CT officials shortlisted the submitted entries to 6.

The 2018 Czech Eurovision entry will be selected via mixed jury/public voting deliberation. The audience and the fans will be able to vote for their favorite entry.

CT’s Creative Producer Mr. Jan Potměšil says:

This year the viewers and Eurovision fans will play a key role in selecting the song, as they will be able to vote for their favorite entry in the national final using the official Eurovision app. Similarly, an international jury will also be involved in the selection of the song.

The Czech Head of Delegation Mr. Jan Bors says:

The song  with the largest number of votes from the audience and the jury will be declared the winner and will represent us in Lisbon at the largest non sports event in the world.

Eurovision 2018 project

CT kicked off its quest to find a song for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest last September when it opened a call for artists and composers to submit their entries. The submission period concluded on 17 November 2017.

The broadcaster has decided to hold a national final in order to determine the 2018 Czech Eurovision representative after having received more than 400 entries.

CT plans to hold its Eurovision 2018 national final in January 2018.

Czech Republic in Eurovision

The Czech Republic debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 with Kabat and is yet to win the event. The nation has competed in the contest 6 times and 2018 will see its 7th Eurovision participation.

The Czechs withdrew from the competition in 2010 and returned after a 4 year absence in 2015. The country has qualified to the Grand final only once, namely in 2016 with Gabriela Gunčíková.

In 2017, the Czechs went internal and selected Martina Barta to represent them in Kyiv with My time.

The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 8, 10 and 12 May at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal.